Howard J Smith

Hi Jeremy How are you? Very nice work on the new Potter film! For the work you do I would recommend you go for the traditional as the shell is stronger and has less flex. I have a number of the demo vests if you would like to try one. Please email me off forum howard@mk-v.com take care and I hope this helps. All the best Howard

Hi Dave How are you? MK-V make the new FMG motors (30% more powerful than the original and very quiet!) They are still made for us in Israel. We have 50+ in stock if you would like any. Please email me off forum. (howard@mk-v.com) You can see them on - http://www.mk-v.com/MK-V_FOCUS_SYSTEM.htm All the best Howard

Hi Rusty How are you? Ok - if you can the 235 with 400 ARRI mags - this will be the answer to all your problems. If not the 435 wil be fine if you use a Ni-cad battery on the 24v side. The newer 435's are much worst than the older models and can draw upto 18 amps on start up. Aviod the extreme.... Another trick is to start the camera in 24fps and then when at speed flick it into vari. Some have 'soft start' so it will never go mental and draw 18 amps. If you are shooting 24fps then you should not really have too many problems. Just let the camera come up to speed before you do any big focus pulls. Jerry Hill does a great low mode than can tilt as well - well worth looking into. Hope this helps All the best Howard

Hi Chris (chaps) How are you? - And Happy Birthday!! Excellent download - I had not seen this before. I have had low back pain for more years than I care to remember - And I have finally found out what was causing it - My neck I had an old whiplash injury and when my neck was X-rayed you can clearly see it was not right. Now my neck is being treated, my low back pain is almost gone. I find this very interesting - I have spent years treating the pain and not the cause. For those of us not lucky enough to be pain free while working, this could be something to also think about. Re the back-mounted vest - this made a HUGE difference to me - I was about to retire after 17-years due to back pain, but thankfully I tried Walter's vest (Klassen) and that was 5 years ago. And I am still shooting with the A-R. One thing we have found is that having the vest arm half way up the back and using a drop down arm - also makes this another HUGE advancement in comfort. As I am tall I had always had it at the bottom - but just by moving it up 2" made a considerable difference. Hope this helps? All the best Howard

Hi Bill How are you? (So glad to hear you are literally back on your feet!) Re your policy - one item that you could add as I do is - "any damage due to extreme conditions" - this inc. high dust, sand, rain, sea water etc. even running. Basically anything out side of the 'normal' on the stage. (I also suppose we will have to define "normal" at some point?) This in fact this is where most of the actual equipment damage is done. (Apart from accidents) I had a system back after a war film - and believe me it had been thru a war - Dust, sand and sea water - all covered by this line. Production paid (without hassle) to have it brought back to full 'as new' spec. As most of my work is in Europe we carry our own insurance as standard, but we are also covered personally by production and my 1 line clause - seems to cover the rest - We maybe lucky in Europe as we are not as 'litigious' as you are in the US - But this is something I feel we will soon (sadly) be following. Therefore you work here is the way forward. All the best with this and I hope to see you soon. Take care Howard

Hi Juan How are you? There is something 'going down' on Saturday 23rd - Please email David Allen grove steadicamguild@gmail.com I look forward to seeing you at the show. All the best Howard

Hi Guys As this thread has been bounced around - I thought I would re flag it. :rolleyes: If anyone is interested please can you contact us, either Chris on his email chris@ar-mcguire.com or Howard on howard@mk-v.com We look forward to hearing from you. many thanks Howard

Hi Alec (how are you?) Many thanks for this - Chris's first 2 attemps were 'erased' Thanks again. Cheers Howard

Hi Guys We (MK-V) are looking for a couple of able assitants to help us set up and run the show. If anyone is interested (and this post is not deleted yet again!!) Please contact either myself Howard on howard@mk-v.com or Chris on ar-mcguire@sbcglobal.net Many thanks Howard and Chris

Hi Lawrence How are you? Just so you know, The vibration you mentioned was caused by the Only None MK-V part of the MK-V AR - Nexus system. Raymond was using a 'Steadicam' 3a topstage and this is where the vibration came from. (this was discussed earlier in this thread) Raymond has now sorted this and now has vibration free shots. All the best Howard

Hi Nice try!!! Don't forget I know ALL the ops in the UK and you are not one of them.... (there is No Randall Stevens in the UK) - "We did not have the luxury of a forum back then" - So I take it you have been around for a while and in the UK and I have never heard of you, (I have been working in the UK for 25 years) you are not on IMDB or Google? - very interesting.... BUT you do have a very strong opinon about things you know nothing of? - this is also very interesting?? I thought it was REAL names only on here! :D Very funny! :D H

Hi Guys I found a great one of Bert - also another cool one for Eric! Cheers H

Hi Guys I was going to save this one for some one else - but why should they have all the fun. Glad the foum is getting back on track = fun!! Go for it! take care All the best Howard

Dear Lars / chaps " Foul language man...BOOOOO!!!!!!! "This thread is getting out of hand." I totally agree!! I am so sorry I had to resort to this - but this thread was/is totally out of hand and so fully of untruths that something had to be done. Strong words are all that some people understand sometimes. I did not write my post lightly. I spent a long time and ran it by lots of people first. I spoke with lots of my peers who called and emailed me, inc. people who run this forum. They All said I had to put a stop to this horrendous, slanderous, untrue thread. Lars if this was all aimed at you I am sure you would feel and act the same. I am sorry if this offended you. I pride myself on my customer support and work all hours to maintain this. All I want to do is offer a professional product to professional people. Just so you know. All the best to you. Howard

?First off, let me preface this by saying this is not Eric Fletcher the Moderator talking this is Eric Fletcher the Former MK-V customer talking.? And this is Howard Smith the Dp / ?A? camera / Steadicam / revolution Operator, Not the owner of MK-V? And I must add it is like being back at school again ? gangs in the playground only not as grown up!! ?Howard, on the off chance that you will read this (and you will)? I was not going to reply to this latest work of fiction, but I have had so many emails and calls from people saying I should, so Thank you for allowing me at last to tell the truth! ? I hope you are ready for this? I am answering in the manner it deservers. So apologies to all who read this forum. ?how about we talk about the loads of shit that you have foisted on this forum, it's members, and Patent holders on technology that YOU licensed. Let's hit the big one first. Where are Lynn Nicholson's Royalty checks?? Simple - He refused them ? MK-V tried and tried and he repeatedly said no ? so what can we do ? MK-V gave him the first built Revolution for free and offered various times to pay him, as I am a gentleman, but it was always refused for what ever reason. We even offered to buy his Revolution from him And give him money - he said no. So there you are the truth! I personally also feel very let down and betrayed by Lynn as well. I thought I had met someone who was a kindred spirt. + It has nothing to do with you at all!! "You know the ones that you agreed on, the ones you swore on your wife's and (at that time) unborn daughter's life that you would pay. You owe Lynn much more than just the money you are LEGALLY OBLIGATED to pay; you owe him that and more." Oh ? piss off eric - Actually I owe him nothing really, and again ? what the hell has any of this got to do with you?? What I did, I did as a Gentleman ? the Revolution system has and never has had anything to do with Lynn ? Wishing Lynn no ill, but if he had never been born the Revolution would be exactly the same as it is now - so why do I owe him exactly? ? I would have none of this bullshit for a start? To be honest the Revolution is such a small part of what MK-V does, it is not the ?pot of gold? people think it is. We have still sold less than 25 units, which is the minimum number before ANY profit. ? This is not down to the units not working, far from it, as they work very well, it is down to the market and peoples imagination. (And idiots like you). Only now are people starting to use it properly. (see ?Nobit? and John Buzz?s excellent AR work) "Remember when you told the BSC about the AR and how you invented it? And then the BSC had to figure a way out how to fix what you misrepresented so they had to reword the award and issue one to the rightful inventor, an award that will live on as a testament to your deceit." Yet again your facts are wrong ? (as they have always been) ? The BSC awarded me for all my work I have done over the last 10 years inc. my original focus system and the nexus sled etc, Inc the 2? 4 stage (that you still use). THIS is what I was awarded for ?the continued advancement of Steadicam?. Joe Dunton (who had the first Steadicam?s for rent in the late 70?s) always came over to me at shows over the last 6 years and asked what I had been doing and took great interest. They approached me. I had nothing to do with it. WHEN you all gave me, and the BSC shit over this, I spoke to the BSC and Got a 2nd Award made (1st time ever) for Lynn as well. As Even though this was not at all what the award was for, I am still a gentleman. "And just in case you forgot and want to claim that I don't know what I'm talking about, a bit of background on my involvement. Due to my involvement with Lynn and the Alien project, I have been privy to more info than pretty much anyone else. Back in September of '03 (I think) I was, for want of a better word I'll use the military term, the Acceptance officer for the AR licensing Demo Rig. In other words I tested it for Lynn since he was unable to attend said test. At that time Howard was long on promises (I'll cover those at some other time) and had a rig that was actually fairly good in stabilization but had a VERY short Stability Duty cycle before the sensors would saturate and the Error Correction would go haywire. When it would go haywire two things would happen: the camera would "roll over and play dead", and the monitor would rotate out of sequence with the camera. The interesting thing is that I really had to get funky with the rig to cause major problems. Fast forward to Cinegear the next June when we had the invite showing of the AR (for that I am very sorry guys) I was HORRIFIED with what I saw; it had none of the stability of the unit I approved plus it had some serious PID Tremor. That's when Howard told us he had to change the sensors for production and then conveniently lost his voice." The invitation was 100% your idea Eric ? let?s get this straight. You are the arrogant bastard that told people they were not good enough to see it ? Poor Dave Allen Grove and yes even Erwin ? does, - and I quote ?make these idiots stop? remind you of anything?? I did not know the LA scene at this point. And I was stupid enough to believe your bullshit that you were a well-respected operator, this I now know to be false. I had also been working 20-hour days 24/7 for 2 years to get it ready and it took a huge toll on my health. I ended up in hospital, as you know, and I had to check myself out to do the 2nd day of demos. I turned up still with my hospital wristband on. Yes of course there were problems -duh!! This is cutting edge technology. These problems are the main reason I did not release when I was meant too. A lot of people do not know that I had 4 revolutions with me at ?that? Cinegear, as they were all in the car behind the stand. The revolution at the ?private? demos was a last Prototype. The ones for ?the? Cinegear were the original prototypes, (of which there were many). These unfortunately did have a problem that meant I could not show them, as I wanted it to be right. ? But and I quote, you said ?I can use this as it is, I like it better than the alien?. Also you said it again at Kelly?s house, in front of both of us. THE only reason you are sore with me is that you wanted one for free and I said no way, but I would do you one for cost and you refused to pay. (more of this later) So please get your facts straight. "How about this: In March I received an emergency call from my agent. Was I interested in going to New Mexico to replace an operator on a feature film? Seems this operator told production the was in the union. He also refused to do a time sheet and told them to just deposit his money into his account via wire transfer because he didn't have to pay taxes, since he is not a citizen of the United States. This operator lied to production and also lied to each and every crew member." Thank you for at last allowing me to tell All about this as I find it very interesting. 1st Off the Dp asked me to do the shoot ?Employee of the month? ? I told production that I was Not Union, the production manager said to leave it with him and he would sort it. I was then told it had been sorted so I got on a plane. (As I would not of done so if it had not been) I did everything by the book and had a great time, one of the best shoots I have ever done. "The best part of the story: they sacked him on a Thursday night, shut the company down on Friday, flew me in on Sunday, yet for some bizarre reason he wouldn't leave until Wednesday afternoon. So he decided to hang out on set until he left, making EVERYONE very uncomfortable." The shoot did not stop for 1 second? ? I was shooting with Eva Longoria on Friday in the studio.? ? I have photos? Then the unit packed up and moved to Albuquerque ? so what are you talking about??? The reason I was still there on Monday was because they (Dp, Director, producers, actors etc.) were still trying to sort my union out as they did not want me to leave at all. ? This now brings me onto the 2nd reason you are sore with me. The fact I was there when you were told to get off the A camera as you ?were not very good? by the Dp, before you had even done a take ? and within an hour of the first day. You were moved onto B cam (which they hardly used anymore once you joined might I add..). I was also part of helping to find a new op while they were trying sort this union problem out for me ? and you were the 60th person called on the list ? not on my list by the way. You were the only op not working? "The other interesting thing... He did Zero Steadicam on the job. He had them bring in a pogo cam for some stunt stuff that he shot, but his rig and his AR Sat on the truck and never worked." The Operator in Question? Howard J. Smith." This is because I am an good ?A? camera/Steadicam op/2nd unit Dp. so I use the correct tool for the job. The schedule changed completely when Sam?s Club pulled out at the 11th hour and we had to shoot the studio work first ? this was scheduled for the end of the shoot and always planned as ?no Steadicam?. I did however use the Doggicam, not pogocam. As I said I use the correct tool for the job and Steadicam would have been totally wrong, (see children of men thread, operated by my good friend and customer ? George Richmond) If any one bored enough to still be reading this ? if you see the film it is the scene where Dane Cook in on a little yellow motor bike ? I shot and directed this scene with the excellent stunt coordinator Steve Ritzy. I wanted the lens 1? off the ground at 30 mph with a 17mm (I used the 17-35mm zoom on the 2c) got some amazing stuff you could not get any other way. We were all Very pleased with the whole sequence. And Steve and I came up with the monster truck idea on the way to the scout as we passed it for sale in a garage. ? But again what do I know??? ? A lot more than you apparently! "How about the failed demo on "The Da'Vinci Code" when the rig freaked out in front of the DP insuring that he would never use it." What failed demo?? ? If you knew any of the info at all ? like the ?facts? you would know that I personally did this demo at Pinewood Studios on the 007 stage (Mona Lisa set to be precise) ? I did the demo for Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, (who loved it and ?wanted it in blue? by the way..) Sal the Dp, Brian Grazer and Candide the op + the rest of the unit. Chris who was also with me then did the shoot for 3 days in Lincoln and they all loved the system. Candide operated the shot (as we had done some training with him before when we were on the 007 stage) ? No problems at all with the Revolution and to quote Sal the Dp ? it looks like a F***in technocrane!? ? so what failed demo exactly?? The only problem from the whole shoot was with the various focus systems and the assistants head sets. But this has nothing to do with the Revolution. "Or how about NAB three years ago where Howard was showing everyone the "shot" he did on one of the Harry Potter movies? Yet, when you looked at the IVS overlay, it said "Standby" and the footage counter stayed at Zero?" The camera was in fact running as we saw it in rushes?? Or was I dreaming? ? But I said it was a test and that is all it was? ? This was also Harry Potter 4. We then did huge and long Revolution scenes on the new Harry Potter 5 ? I did some and Chris did a wonderful 3 minute scene when Harry and Voldermont first meet and battle with Dumbledorf ? great stuff! ? 2 full days of main unit and we got a day ahead of schedule. We also did a number of other days and shots inc. a couple of great snake POV?s and we got to ?kill? an character as well, it worked so well! And so did the revolution! "How about the Promises to the AR Pioneers about no cost upgrades as the technology was improved. How about the promise of the gimbal control taking two+ years to come up with a half-assed attempt and then wanting to charge the pioneers for something that you promised them long ago." Yes and this have been done, almost all pioneers decided to keep their V1?s as well. The gimbal control will be released when it is ready and not before. As soon as I can divert my attention to this an not answering idiotic dialogue like this! "I won't even go into the AR that I was promised, then told I could buy it at retail, then told I could buy it at a reduced cost. That wasn't the deal and you went back on it just like every other deal you have entered into in your life." Ahh ? now we get to the real reason for all this hostility and bullshit ? You were indeed offered an Revolution at cost, like I said before, but for some reason you wanted one for free ? get real! Even Chris McGuire paid cost for his and he is my right hand man? ? You are nothing to me in comparison to him, but I still offered you the same deal as a 1 off as I was making the first batch 12 systems at the time for the pioneers. And I am a gentleman. "Howard, your absence from this forum is not a loss." I have emails and calls that say the opposite and you are the one that would not be missed to be honest! "It's typical of your behavior when you don't agree with something you blame others, then bury your head in the sand and claim that it never happened. Own up to your mistakes, make good on your promises, and be a man about the mess you have created. Until then, I'm happy you have chosen to leave." I am more than happy to own up to my faults ? the biggest mistake I made was associating myself with the most disliked op in the world. I have yet to met anyone (and I mean anyone, Lynn inc.) who actually likes you. ? When I spoke to the cast and crew of Employee after the shoot, None liked you on your brief tour, ?your Steadicam operating was Ok at best and self promoting to the point of boring? was one email I got. I am proud of my achievements and have learnt from my many mistakes. You cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs. I have a wonderful family, company and job, wonderful and supportive friends, 100?s of great and loyal clients and life is good. I have a few thorns in my side, like you and this forum, but apart from that? So please let me be the first to say this on the forum ? ?Fuck off Eric ? you know nothing!? - if you knew you nothing then at least you would know something! Oh and ?Stig? you are not at all welcome on the 'friendly' forum either ? so do us all a BIG favor and shut the fuck up! Thank you, this has been most rewarding, almost like therapy! :D Sorry for those who have had to read all this, but I did not want to have to stoop to their level, but emails and calls from some very respected, nice and good people convinced me to set the record straight. All the best to all who love ?Steadicam? and enjoy life. Please contact me personally if you have any questions regarding any of this 'horrendous' thread, and I will do my best to answer. Take care fly safe Howard howard@mk-v.com

Guys This is it. I have never read such a load of S**t in my life! Good luck with everything - this is my last post on this crazy forum! All the best Howard

Hi Guys If you would like to see some more photos of this system in action (+ many more) Please see www.mk-v.com - NEW - monthly pictures. All the best Howard

Hi I always thought the best idea would be to hand hold the camera hanging from a helium balloon with lights in, then you can always have complete freedom and a great toplight where ever you go! Just an idea? Cheers H

Hi Matt How are you? Ok what we used was the thompson Viper with a custom digital video link. (1 frame delay). Full racking etc. (from Charter) we also used the new MK-V focus system. The system worked beautifully, no problems at all. We (John) got some amazing shots, we are waiting for the footage and we will put some on our site. We will also have some photos of this on the site very soon as well. I spoke with the director this morning and he was very fired up with what we were able to get. All in all it was great. Hope this helps All the best Howard

Hi Alec Thank you for your post ? Sorry for the delay in replying I have been working all weekend. Please let me start by saying that I have the utmost respect for you. My post was not aimed at you personally and I had no wish to upset you ? It is more of a general concern. And a response to the craziness that has been going on here. I don?t have a problem with criticism, only with people posting false information as fact ? repeatedly. ?On so many levels you?ve managed to offend.? I am sorry if the truth hurts, I have had lots of feedback personally from people who said they totally agree with me. I HAD to stop this BS ? it was getting so silly. I don?t know whom I have offended? If stating the facts (please note ?facts?) offends people, then I don?t really know what to say. I am not going to sit here and listen to all these untruths aimed at my company, and myself, by people with hidden agendas or who don?t know the facts. I want people to know the truth, (please email me your questions off forum) most of what I was responding to is nothing but fiction. ?Your comments on moderators and your suggestion that we not be allowed to post was so shocking that I actually took a few days away from the forum to cool off! I seem to recall that you were happy with my selection to the moderating team when I last saw you at NAB (2006).? I am sorry that it upset you this way; I am ?happy with you?. Ok - please try and understand this is how I feel every time I see an ?ill-informed? post. Which has been an awful lot recently. I had to say something. What I am also talking about is ?certain? moderators starting a very biased and opinionated thread, then when we (other ops) post against the work of fiction, our posts have been deleted? - This HAS to stop ? of course people are entitled to their opinions - BUT So are we! You cannot have the person starting the fight who is also in charge of the rules ? it is totally one sided and biased. ? I feel so strongly about all this, Hence the posts. ?I, like most seasoned operators, am very opinionated when it comes to the gear I use.? I too am also a very seasoned operator and also opinionated ? I don?t just design and make the kit, but I am still a working op and Dp. I have been working as a professional Steadicam op for over 21 years. (For those who are interested please see some of the jobs I have worked on - http://imdb.com/name/nm0808475/ ) Over the years I have used and tested ALL the equipment out there; this is why I started MK-V. To have a kit that met the needs required and also to offer customer service from an operators point of view. ?If you, or anyone, has a problem with a given moderator, the proper response is to write a private email to said moderator and try and sort things out. If this does not work or you are uncomfortable doing this then the best thing to do would be to contact Tim Tyler.? Of course this is what we did straight away ? you as a moderator should know this. The result - Nothing happened. The expression ? (quis custodiet ipsos custodes?) ?who will guard the guards themselves?? springs to mind. ?Moderators are a much needed part of this forum? WHY? ? I don?t understand this part? Or why they are needed? ?And to suggest we shouldn?t post is simply unrealistic. We are not paid; we volunteer our time because we love all things Steadicam and believe that there is still hope in this forum. If it were mandated that I couldn?t post, I?d resign in a heartbeat, as I?m sure any established member of this community would. Would you want an outsider trying to handle these threads?? As I said before I have no beef with you ? I for one would rather have your feedback and posts than have moderators! All I know is since the ?moderators? started, attendance and helpful posting has dropped big time. ? In fact most people whom I speak to say this forum is now a waste of time, and sadly I am beginning to think that way too. I know I for one would visit and post more if there were no moderators to ?interfere? with our posts. ?Your comments about Will were out-of-line. Will is a very respected operator and a true AR pioneer.? I hold Will in high esteem as an op, but even so, he is not the most experienced MK-V A-R operator out there. Will does not know all the facts and some of his posts are Way off the mark. We have spoken to him at length re this Off forum. ?To alienate him just seems odd. You criticize this forum because some heavy hitters no longer post, yet you try and silence Will. Will Arnot IS a heavy hitter and we are very fortunate to have him here. Charles Papert, another veteran that still posts here regularly, tried to gently suggest that you have a PR problem and in response you explode and throw mud everywhere in the hopes that it sticks to anyone but you.? PR is an issue I take Very seriously. And any suggestions on how we can improve our service ? I am all ears (please email me off forum). I feel I am in a no win situation. The ?PR problem? is partially due to a self-fulfilling prophecy, resulting from fictional posts on here -?? So can you see how crazy this is? ? I am having to defend myself and company from false information? it is a catch 22 situation. Without this forum and the BS posts, life would be a lot easier - QED. As far as I am aware I have Very happy customers. I know this as they email and call me to tell me how happy they are! I welcome all and any comments ? TO ME howard@mk-v.com ? so I can help them and act on the information. What I strongly object to ? is works of fiction being posted as fact, and then everyone judging me on this? This is what my post is/was about. MK-V strives to think out of the box and challenge the world of camera stabilization and to make it better for all. (This reminds me of the expression ?you can?t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs?) ?You write that much of the criticism directed at you comes from XCS owners. What is this supposed to imply? Greg Bubb not only makes some of the best equipment on the market today, he provides customer service that is second to none and I also have come to consider him a friend. I feel it necessary to defend him since he does not post in this forum as he feels it is not his place as an equipment manufacturer. I have never seen him say anything negative about you or your gear so I take great offense to your implications.? I really wish this were true! You don?t even know the half of it. Sadly, I have first hand knowledge of this. As do some of my customers. And just for the record (not wishing to sound paranoid, or offend you but)? you fly a mainly XCS sled?? ?Where I do agree with you Howard is that this forum has strayed too far from its origins, but it is not as bad as you may think. Yes, we have lost a few wonderful operators who used to post all the time, but we still have a lot of veterans. Larry still posts from time to time as does Chris and even Garrett. More frequent guests include: Will, Charles, Jerry, Erwin, Janice, Rob, and yes, your personal favorite Eric. These operators have a lot of years between them, and I for one am happy they are here. (I?m sure I left a ton of great people off this list - these names just came to mind.)? Great! ? we are getting somewhere. The names above are just a very small handful of the ops we used to have here. But now it is the same names over and over again ? there is nothing new ? no one, myself included can be bothered to post new ideas or ways of working, as it is just not worth it anymore. ALL the ops I talk to are not interested in this forum anymore ? most use the phrase ?BS?, ?Ego?s? ?can?t be bothered? and ?Arrogant? when they talk about it. ?We have lost people for a number of reasons ranging from the user interface to overwhelming posts by newbie?s (I hate that term, sorry) to yes? the mud slinging.? ?Mud slinging? - This is your main reason ? All I have spoken to and myself inc. are just totally sick of this. Which is why I was compelled to write. Enough is enough. Please note - The user interface and posts from newbie?s are just fine! ?I believe it was Eric that suggested the Newbie?s section which has turned out to be a resounding success, as it allows salty dogs to pass by - if so inclined - but it is also a less intimidating place to post novice questions.? But no one ? myself Included posts there anymore, as all the snide and childish comments are not worth the hassle. (And worth noting -these Are not from the newbie?s?.!!) ?Enough said on this front. We agree that things should get back on track, so please let us all do our part in this and continue the open dialog on this fabulous profession of ours. We may not all agree on all things (face it, it would be boring if we did) but in the end, there is a place for all of us here.? I TOTALLY Agree and this is the point of opening ?this can of worms? The forum would self-destruct left the way it is going. Most ops I talk to do not even look here anymore, let alone post. When asked about the forum, the main comment and I quote, is ?what the arrogant forum? ? No Not interested, its BS.? Alec - Thank you for taking time to post and for caring as I do about ?steadicam? and this forum. I look forward to seeing you and talking over a beer or 2(3) very soon. Sorry for the long post - I just wanted to thorough. With great respect. Howard. If anyone would like to talk more this please email me off forum. howard@mk-v.com Thanks. Howard

Hi Guys If you would like to see more photos - please log onto www.mk-v.com and then hit the link for "Monthly Pictures" This is a new feature on the site and ANY MK-V owners can email us photos (of them working) and we will post them here. This page then goes into the Gallery at the end of the month. Hope you like it. All the best Howard

Hi Afton How are you? Nice post - and I am in total agreement - your last line summed it all up perfectly for me - "A man should be measured by the content of his posts, not by the title he bears!" Sadly this is also the point, most of the posts recently aimed at myslef and Chris (when he was not deleted!) are far from the ideal set forward - hence my posting. I want to get this forum back as it was when I first used to come all those years ago, it was fun, full of great help and coments. I no longer see any of that here, or the wonderful people who used to post - I mean Larry does not even post anymore - this is one person I sorely miss, which is a HUGE shame for all the 'newbies' and working ops out there (of which I am still one). If the view is split re the moderators then lets start a Poll and see who agrees? Basically - lets cut the BS and get this forum back on track. :) Keep up the great work on your site and looking forward to seeing you soon. All the best Howard

Hi Charles How are you? As you know ?rumours? have a habit of catching you out. Hence my posting here today. Re postings on the forum ? Ok ? No 1, I choose not to air my laundry in public ? some people get off on this But I don?t. If I was to post most the emails I get, on here you would all have a very different picture and opinion of some of the operators on here. Their views of other operators is appalling. But I choose not to post them, for the moment, unlike other people. I choose not to answer most posts as they are so far off the mark as to not warrant any reply ? If people want to believe these works of fiction, without checking with us or the people concerned, then I am at a loss for words. Believe it or not my life does not revolve around this forum. It revolves around my family and company. I am far to busy talking with customers and getting orders ready + answering emails! (for more on this see below) Re points like Wills ?Although the shots were stabilised with the AR there was an unfortunate amount of lens vibration due to some poor machining of the AR baseplate? This is the type of miss information and BS I am on about. This was posted with no proof at all ? but some people blindly believe it. If Will had even checked these facts ? like talking to Raymond - he would of found out the truth, as I did when I asked Raymond re this, this was his answer ? ?There was some vibration but not a lot as they said. I think it was caused by my 3A top stage either by the loose screws or by not locking the AR cage base plate to the top stage tight enough. The AR is quite heavy with the ArriCam LT and there was still play although I tighten the left to right top stage screws once a while. The vibration did happened during quick walking shots when I do close ups. I guess it would be fixed when I go to a new top stage.? (please note that this top-stage is NOT an MK-V product) When I asked Raymond if he would mind if I quoted him and why he has not replied himself ? this was his answer ? ?I don't mind go ahead and quote me. It is too much bs going on in the forum. I just don't feel like wasting my time on writing replies.? As you can see this is in fact nothing to do with the MK-V A-R System OR the MK-V Nexus sled. This does Not happen with the topstage we supply. Re me answering emails, or Not as the case is. ? Ok lets look at this, seeing as this was also brought up (a lot) It is very hard to answer an email if the person does not actually send it to you!?! I thought this would be straight forward enough, but it does not seem to be that way. Everyone who has posted that I have not replied, did in fact Not send an email ? as I am very very disciplined re emails and replies (unless I am asleep or on vacation!) I use the mac system, and I can search the content of all my emails to see if a persons name is even mentioned. ? This is how I know. I also go back a long way. Re Guido Lux?s post in ?AR in the rain? ? first posting - ?I wrote Howard an email a while ago but he never got back to me!? ? 2nd posting - ?UPS! Just realized the email to Howard never got send!!! My mistake! No offense!! Guido? Re ?negative anecdotes? ? well let?s talk about this as well, seeing as you brought this up. I have not seen 1 negative post from anyone who does not have some kind of hidden (or not so hidden) agenda going on ? some have small ones, some huge. I choose to ignore this as anyone would. ? It would be well to note all most all the ?bad press? I/MK-V is getting is coming from XCS owners (or people who are involved with them), which is very interesting. To the Guys who read this forum, please take all these ?views? or ?reports? that you read with a ?pinch of salt? as there is a lot going on behind the scenes that is not being said. A lot of it is negative propaganda based on fiction. For example the strength of our 2? 4 stage post, or the rigidity of the Nexus ? but this is a whole other laughable story! Re the Forum, Ok this is another issue in its own right, This forum is a shadow of its former self, no one posts here anymore, myself included. Where have all the great ops gone? I know, as I have spoken to them about it. They feel the same as myself and the many many others (see Raymonds coment above) ? the forum is no longer the fun unbiased helpful place it used to be. And for the record I do not feel the moderators should be allowed to post. Most know what I am talking about. They should either moderate OR post - not both. It seems like this forum is personal ego trips for many ops and not a lot else. Their biased views are boring and transparent. I do not see what it has to do me or MK-V. All at MK-V work bloody hard and pride our selves on excellent products and excellent service 24/7 - 365. If anyone would like to speak to us please see www.mk-v.com for our contact info. See you all soon. Best wishes Howard J Smith

Hi mate No worries! I know it is hard to reply to emails you never get, but I do try!! ______ Guys - Chances are if you do not hear from me - I did not hear from you...:D (howard@mk-v.com) All the best Howard

Hi Matt How are you? Re your Post - Odd, we use Macs for emails and I have done a search on ALL our emails (going back a long way) and there is nothing from you. Maybe you did not use the '-' in the MK-V bit? How can I help you? Please email me at this address - howard@mk-v.com I look forward to hearing from you All the best Howard